


ma come stelle brilliamo

by hellaskye



Category: Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multi, Multichapter, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, as i do w most of my fics, eventually at least - Freeform, im so frickin excited for this one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-22 03:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13755444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellaskye/pseuds/hellaskye
Summary: A few weeks into senior year, a familiar face comes back to JQA: Maya Penelope Hunter. After disappearing to the Italian Countryside for a prestigious art program at the start of sophomore year, Maya returns home, and finds that nothing has changed, yet everything is different. Riley is just how she's always been, but her friends are barely speaking; There's a cute boy in her art class, but Lucas is acting cold and indifferent; Shawn and Katy are doing well, but Maya feels strangely distant from them after being away for two years. Maya's best friends are Riley, the boy of her dreams, and Missy Bradford of all people. And on top of all of that (or perhaps, because of all that), Maya can't seem to create any actual art.senior year is shaping up to be a wild ride, but then again, when isn't life throwing Maya a few hardballs?





	1. uno

**Author's Note:**

> hello! welcome to my baby; a full length, multi-chapter lucaya work. the basis of this plot is basically that Maya left at the end of freshman year, instead of Riley. I have about three more chapters of this pre-written, so this should get updated pretty regularly. 
> 
> please, please, please!! review if you enjoyed, or if you have some constructive criticism (constructive being the key word there, friends). sometimes all i need to update is that extra little kick :)
> 
> without further ado, enjoy!

New York was good to Maya Hunter.

The leaves were just beginning to gain a rosy blush and the air was starting to cool down into sweater-weather when Maya stepped off the plane at JFK. The billowy off-the-shoulder dress she was wearing whipped around in the wind as she walked out of the terminal, the innocent white creating a stark contrast to the deep, worn leather of her messenger bag. One hand clutched the strap that hung off of her shoulder as she caught her reflection in a glass window. The dress was a beautiful white cotton piece that was literally woven _for_ Maya, and fit her perfectly. It clung to her shoulders with effortless ease, but still kept her comfortable. Her hair, though a little messy from the long flight, had been braided up into an updo that circled her crown. The fly-aways complimented the look, Maya decided with a wry smirk. Plus, she was too tired to fix it. Her skin was free of make-up, save for a little bit of tired mascara that still hugged her eyelashes, and freckles dotted her tanned skin. She looked _good_ , she had to admit. She’d gotten used to this Maya Hunter, but seeing her here, in New York, felt odd. She felt out of place in the city that had raised her. Perhaps it was because she had officially left Maya _Hart_ behind when she had left the country two years prior or maybe it was because everyone changed in high school, but being back in New York gave her a funny little stomachache.

But it was _good_ , Maya reminded herself. Her return to New York was _good_. She’d missed her Mom and Dad, and the Matthews, and she was going to go to college here, in the States, so it was for the best that she was back for her senior year. But the thought of seeing her friends, all of whom she missed _dearly_ , made her feel a little funny. She’d just…left, right before sophomore year, and she had to imagine it wouldn't be weird to return. She had no false hope that things would go back to the way they were, but she already felt like a stranger in her home as it was. She didn’t want to return to a familiar school, with familiar people, only to feel out of place. She’d begged her parents to let her attend a different school for senior year, but they’d just given her a look and said a variation of _you can’t run away from your problems_. But wasn’t that exactly what Maya had done? And it had worked out perfectly. Until now, at least.

She still remembered reading the acceptance letter with shaking hands. It’d been June of her freshman year, and she’d sent off an application to some ‘ _summer abroad art study_ ’ program Mr. Jackson had recommended her for, just for kicks. It looked amazing, and they had a financial aid application, so she’d sent it off and forgot about it, until the end of the year when she’d not only gotten in, but been offered a full-ride. For their _year-round_ conservatory. It was a two year program, with the summer in between off, in the gorgeous Italian countryside. She’d get to learn from artists who studied Michaelangelo and Da Vinci up close and study with the masters, and she didn’t have to pay a _dime_. It was her dream come true, but Maya had almost rejected it. Two years was a _long time_ away from her friends, and her _home_.

It’d been Lucas who’d convinced her. He didn’t mean to; at the time Maya hadn’t told _anyone_ that she’d even applied, save Mr. Jackson. She hadn’t even told her _parents_ yet, but on the last day of school, Lucas had pulled her aside and thanked her for helping him make the right choice at the ski lodge that night. He’d looked into her eyes and told her that he saw himself having an actual future with Riley, one that in a decade might include _marriage_ , and _kids,_ and a white picket fence. And he’d been so giddy, but it’d _crushed_ Maya. Because as much as she knew she’d never be able to be with him, whether or not Riley and Lucas stayed together, she still wasn’t completely over him. She wasn’t sure if she ever would be. So looking in his eyes on that night, she made up her mind to _go_. He hadn’t been the cause of her decisions, but he _had_ been the sign she’d been looking for, in order to make said decision. She’d _go_ and get over him, and move on. And she did.

Riley was the only one who knew, other than her parents. She hadn’t thought Riley would be able to hold onto a secret like that, but she’d been in Washington D.C. for most of the summer, so her decision had been kept secret, until, she assumed, she never showed up for sophomore year. She’d given Riley permission to explain once she was gone. Almost immediately, she’d heard from Farkle, then Izzy, then Zay. Lucas? She hadn’t heard a thing in two years.

“Well hello, gorgeous,” a deep voice chuckled behind her, drawing Maya out of her thoughts and into waiting arms with an excited squeal. “How ya doin’ Maya?”

“I’m here,” Maya shrugged, smiling up at the older boy with warm eyes. “Hey, Josh. Long time, no see.”

“What’re you talking about? I Skyped you like, yesterday,” Josh teased her, throwing an arm around her bare shoulders and leading her out of the airport. “Shawn’s got ‘Pangers’s car, so he’s driving it around. I told him I’d grab you.”

Maya’s smile grew as she thought of finally seeing her Dad for the first time in months. He and Katy had visited Maya three times during the course of her program, and Shawn had come once by himself for work, but she’d missed them incredibly.

Almost as if her thoughts had made him appear, Topanga’s silver SUV screetched up, Maya heard the sound of the door slamming, and then Shawn threw himself at her. She hugged him back tightly, tears prickling her eyes.

“Hey, Dad,” Maya whispered after a moment. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Maya Papaya,” Shawn said wetly, holding onto her arm like she’d float away if he let go. He pulled back and took the opportunity to look her up and down. “Wait. Did you _grow_? Why are you so tall all of the sudden?”

“It’s called heels, Dad,” Maya laughed, swiping at her eyes hurriedly. “And the slit in the skirt of my dress makes me seems ‘leggier’, or so Fabio says.”

“And we all know Fabio wrote the god-blessed bible,” Josh rolled his eyes good-naturedly. She hit him, sliding into the back seat of the SUV as Shawn stuck her bags in the trunk. She and Josh had become closer over the time she’d been away, funnily enough. Not romantically; Josh had a girlfriend, and Maya had gotten her fair share of tan Italian boys to go through. But a genuine friendship had blossomed, through letters and texts and Skype calls almost every night.

“Fabio knows a lot of things,” Maya shrugged, sighing loftily. “He _did_ dress me up before my flight, and you _did_ call me gorgeous. He knows what he’s on.”

“You did _what_?” Shawn snarled at Josh from the driver’s seat, though it was gentle and mostly joking. “That’s my _daughter_ , Matthews.”

“She looks pretty! I have eyes!” Josh yelped helplessly. At Shawn’s increasingly intense glare, Josh held up a hand. “ _And_ a girlfriend, remember? It was an innocent comment.”

“Innocent my _ass_ ,” Shawn muttered. He met Maya’s eyes in the rearview mirror and smirked, shooting her a wink. She smiled back at him before turning her attention to the concrete jungle rolling by her window.

Maybe, _just maybe_ , she was home.

 

* * *

 

 

“What’s the plan, Papaya?” Shawn asked as they got closer to the apartment. “Your mama said you were planning out your itinerary, so what’chu got for your old man?”

“Wee _ellll_ ,” Maya drew out the word as she pulled out the leather-bound journal Fabio had given her two months prior. She wrote _everything_ in that notebook. “I wrote down that we’d go to our place to pick up Mom and drop off my bags. Then we head to the Matthews to drop off Josh and say hi to Auggie and Topanga, and then from there, to school, where I await my doom!”

She shut her notebook with a satisfying _snap_ and rolled her eyes at Josh’s unimpressed stare. He rolled his eyes back, turning back around.

“ _So_ dramatic. What’d you learn out there in Italy, method acting?”

“Only if I’m playing the role of tortured teen, forced to humiliate herself in front of her old friends,” Maya snarked back, raising an eyebrow. She knew she was being a _tad_ dramatic, but she wasn’t _happy_ about returning to JQA, and she just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of her opposition.

“You’re not going to humiliate yourself,” Shawn assured her, giving her a look in the rearview mirror. “How do you think you’d even manage to do that? Besides, - aren’t they _still_ your friends?”

“It’s complicated,” Maya muttered. Shawn, wisely, did not push it. They _were_ still her friends, but she had grown apart from them during her years apart, _as was to be expected_. It had been two years since she’d seen any of them on anything other than FaceTime. On top of that, Maya knew there was a little bit of resentment about her sudden and unannounced departure. More than _a_ little bit, if Lucas’s two year silence was anything to go by.

Complicated felt like an understatement.

 

* * *

 

 

“You really don’t have to come down,” Maya rolled her eyes as Josh looked for a place to park the car. Parking in New York City was near impossible, no matter what time of day it was. When Josh had volunteered to drive her to the school and get her settled in, she hadn’t expected door-to-door service. She was perfectly fine on her own; Italy had taught her strength and independence, even more than she’d had before.

“I know kiddo, but I wanna see the look on Riley’s face when you walk in,” Josh smirked, finally pulling the car into a spot and parking. Maya just rolled her eyes and grabbed her messenger bag, stepping out of the car carefully. Josh closed the car door behind her, but Maya payed no attention to him, choosing instead to stare mournfully at the high school in front of her.

“I was in Italy two days ago,” Maya informed the boy next to her after a minute. Josh snorted, shaking his head at her dramatics. “It was gorgeous, and sunny, and I didn’t have to do any math. Tell me, Josh, _why_ I came back to a place where I have to do math?”

“Hm,” Josh pretended to think about it, guiding her towards the building forcefully. “Oh yes, because your program was _finished_ , you dork. Also your need for a diploma, in order to get into any college at all.”

“Not worth it,” Maya muttered, following Josh into the imposing building, down the halls towards the admin office. “I’m feeling very _Serena Van Der Woodsen at the beginning of Gossip Girl_.”

“The sad thing is that I understood that,” Josh sighed, shaking his head. He opened the door to the administration and ushered her inside. “Hi, I’m dropping off Maya Hart for her first day?”

“Well, well, if it isn’t JQA’s _very own_ artist in residence,” a deep voice chuckled before the administrative assistant could respond. “ _Maya Hart_ , in the very tanned flesh! How were the Italian Vineyards? Did you find a muse?”

“Mr. Jackson,” Maya greeted her art teacher with a hug and a warm smile. “Italy was incredible. _Thank you_ , for recommending me for the program. It was life-changing, honestly.”

“I was sad to see you go, but I knew it would be good for you as an artist,” Mr. Jackson smiled back at her. “I’m glad to have you back, Maya; see you in fourth period art. We’ll catch up more then?”

Maya looked down at the schedule the admins had given her and gave the man a thumbs-up. Turning to Josh with a slightly fearful look in her eyes, the blonde sighed and pushed out of the offices, towards the one classroom she never dreaded: Mr. Matthew’s history class. Seniors, it seemed, had it for third period, which had begun only five minutes before.

“You ready for this, little Picasso?” Josh asked when they were just out of sight of the classroom, next to Riley’s hole from freshman year. Maya’s lips quirked slightly at the nickname, but her hands shook, and she shoved her schedule into her messenger bag to hide the trembling, choosing to clutch at the strap of the bag instead. Josh looked at her with kind eyes. “Hey. You’ll be okay. You survived Italy, mostly on your own for two years. You’re tough, _and –_ you’re going to be even more popular than you were after that. Add in the fact that you’re a senior now? Maya, you could rule this school, alright?”

Maya looked at him, biting her lip anxiously, but nodded. Josh was right. She was going to have no lack of people to talk to, even if her friends were weird about her being back. She’d left suddenly, right before sophomore year, to go to the Italian countryside, and she _knew_ that she’d had a ‘glow-up’, mostly thanks to a combination of the Italian sun and Fabio’s insight. She had natural freckles, highlights, and _gorgeous_ bohemian clothes now. She had two years of arts and culture instruction under her belt, decent Italian, and more self-confidence than ever. She’d be fine. She _had_ to be.

“Ready to see how well my brother kept your arrival a secret?” Josh snorted, peering into his classroom and making Maya grin. Riley and Cory, at least, would be happy to see her, even if Cory had known since the moment she’d re-enrolled at John Quincy Adams. Meeting Josh’s eyes one last time, Maya nodded, took a breath, and pulled open the classroom door. Holding her transfer slip in her hand, trademark smirk on her face.

“Hey Matthews. You got anything left to teach little ‘ol me?”


	2. due

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas knows there's change in the air. He still gets a surprise he didn't expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! it really does work, because look! here is another chapter. this one from Lucas's perspective. (as of right now in my writing process, this fic seems like it's mostly going to switch back and forth between Maya and Lucas, with a few guest narrators). again, constructive criticism is always appreciated - i know my paragraphs can get a little wordy at times, but if it's hard to read, let me know! stuff like that. 
> 
> okay - without further ado: chapter due!

There was something going on.

Lucas felt it from the moment he walked into History with Mr. Matthews. He’d felt it before that, if he was being honest with himself. Not that he had ever been great at that. But the sideways looks teachers were shooting his way drove him crazy all morning. In the end, Mr. Matthews was the final straw.

Every day, Mr. Matthews had something written on the board. Even if they didn’t end up talking about the topic of the day, Mr. Matthews _always_ had one. No matter what. Except today, when Lucas had entered the room to find the board blank, and Cory looking positively giddy. And when asked what was happening, Mr. Matthews had _immediately_ gone on the defensive.

“What’s going on?” Lucas asked Riley, pausing by her seat in the middle row, left column of the classroom. Ex-girlfriend or not, Riley would always be willing to chat, Lucas knew. Briefly, her eyes looked away from his to watch Farkle and Isadora slide into their seats in the front row of the _right_ two columns, and then she looked back at him with a tired shrug.

“I don’t know. My dad’s been acting weird since school started, but he got _extra_ weird today. Fire drill, maybe?” Riley eyed Cory, who was now sitting at his desk with his hands folded, beaming. “Though, I’m not sure why he’s so happy about a mandatory school drill.”

“Weird,” Lucas muttered, nodding at her before making the trek to his seat in the second to last row, in the middle of the room. Zay was already in the seat next to Lucas’s, and the seat in front of his own was, as always, empty. It was weird for one of Mr. Matthews’s classes to not be at capacity, but Lucas had heard there would be someone transferring into the spot eventually. It was weird to realize that once upon a time, Lucas had sat up front, surrounded by his _friends_ too. A lot had happened in high school.

“So children,” Cory said as the bell rang, hands still folded, smile still stretched across his face. “What would you like to talk about today?”

“You don’t have a _lesson_?” Marley asked from her seat behind Riley. Lucas liked Marley well-enough. She’d become one of Riley’s closest friends, other than Riley’s cheerleading friends. And, well, other than _her_. Even just thinking about her made the back of Lucas’s throat burn. He cleared his throat and tried to tune back into class. _It didn’t matter anymore._

“Well, fine, Ms. Evans,” Cory was saying haughtily. “If all of you don’t want to direct class today, I will. 1945. What was a-happenin’ in ‘Murica?”

“It was the end of World War II,” Farkle said from his side of the classroom. “The war came to a close and the troops came home.”

“The _troops_ came home,” Mr. Matthews agreed enthusiastically. He became somber again for a second. “Was it easy, Farkle? When the troops came home?”

“Not at all,” Farkle shook his head. Out the window, Lucas could’ve _sworn_ he saw a flash of blonde, but he blinked and it was gone. _Wishful thinking_ , he thought, surprising himself with the honesty of it. Lucas returned his attention to the boy-genius in the corner. “When the soldiers came home, they had extreme difficulty adjusting to their lives. And on top of that, it was a big shift for the families they’d left behind too. Women were suddenly fired for no other reason than the men being home, and many families didn’t endure the new dynamics of life after the war.”

“Difficulty adjusting, huh?” Cory asked, with that knowing smile on his face. So there _was_ a lesson in here somewhere. “And why was that? Zay?”

“Uh, ‘cause everything had changed,” Zay shrugged. Mr. Matthews nodded, offering the boy a smile. “Things were different after the war, but for the soldiers, their lives at home had just been paused. For everyone else though, life moved on.”

“ _Exactly_ ,” Matthews nodded, pointing at Zay. “And what happened to all those families? Riley?”

“Some…fell apart,” Riley said slowly, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Her dad raised an eyebrow, and she shrugged with one shoulder. “The ones that made it out were stronger.”

“They did,” Matthews confirmed. “And why –”

Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open, and in the doorway stood a ghost.

She was blonde, with lighter highlights now, and freckled, sun-kissed, skin. Her hair was braided eloquently, with wisps framing her face, and she wore a striking white sundress that hung off of tanned shoulders. Though she balanced effortlessly on a pair of heeled leather boots, she still was not anywhere near _tall_. The biggest change in the girl standing in the doorway was the way she carried herself, with an ease and grace Lucas had never seen in her before.

Of course, he hadn’t seen much of her at _all_ , in recent years.

She was followed by Josh, who stood in the doorway with an amused smirk as she greeted Cory with a confident smirk and a witty quip. For some reason, Josh’s presence bothered Lucas. The other man met his eyes, and his smirk only widened. Lucas looked down in an effort not to clench his fists.

When he looked up again, he caught her eye, and for a moment, everything went quiet. As her blue eyes met his green ones, the corner of her lips quirked up in that smirk of hers, and it seemed like she might say something to him and _just_ him; maybe a ‘ _quit starin’ Sundance, you’ll make me blush_ ’, or even just, ‘ _hey, Huckleberry.’_. But then, Riley Matthews got over her shock.

 _“Peaches!?”_ the brunette screeched, flying out of her seat and launching at _Maya Penelope Hunter_ , who was indeed standing _right there_ , at the front of the classroom. Lucas chanced a look at Farkle, who was studying Maya with the same weird expression Lucas was feeling. Zay, on the other hand, was looking at the blonde with a wide grin, no reservations on his face. Smackle was smiling, and Riley, at the front of the room, was clutching the blonde in a death grip, chattering wildly and crying. The girls stepped away from each other, delicately wiping under their eyes and laughing breathlessly. “When did you get here? _How_ did you get here?”

“I got back this morning. Boing picked me up,” Maya laughed, waving a hand in the direction of the boy who was still standing in the doorway. He grinned at her and she laughed, making a face. “Speaking of, actually – was it worth it, Josh?”

“Riley’s face?” Josh asked, picking up on the obvious inside joke immediately. He scoffed. “ _Way_ worth it. I’ll leave you to it, Mini-Monet. See you after school?”

“Of course,” Maya waved him off, turning to Riley with a wide grin, drawing her in for another hug. Lucas watched Josh Matthews leave with a vaguely unsettled feeling.

“Seems like Maya and _Uncle Boing_ got awful close while she was gone,” Zay said pointedly to Lucas, earning a glare from his best friend. Zay held his hands up with a shrug. “Just saying, man.”

“Glad to have you back, Maya,” Cory said, stealing a hug from the blonde as he shooed his daughter back into her seat. Suddenly, Cory’s odd behavior all made sense; the unpreparedness, the giddiness, the odd lecture topic. As Cory consulted his seating chart, Lucas connected the dots, looking at the teacher contemplatively. “Maya, the only open seat is uh, in the back there. In front of Lucas.”

Suddenly, it felt like the entire classroom was looking at him. Lucas did his best to school his face into something neutral as Maya nodded and walked down the aisle to him. She put her bag on the table in front of his, and then turned to Zay, grin growing as the boy stood up to greet her. She rocked forward and kissed Zay’s cheek, laughing as he pretended to fan himself weakly. Shoving him lightly into his seat, Maya turned and looked down at Lucas. It felt like she stared at him for a breathless eternity before offering him a tight smile and sitting down.

What had Matthews just been talking about? Difficulty adjusting in times of change? _Those who made it through were stronger_ , Riley had said. Now, staring at the blonde sitting directly in front of him for the first time in years, Lucas wasn’t sure _how_ to make it through.

 

* * *

 

 

 _“Maya’s back!_ ” was a sentence uttered by each and every student by the time lunchtime rolled around. Even the underclassmen, who had never known her, knew _of_ her. The artists knew of her works, hanging in Mr. Jackson’s room, the rebels knew of the legends she left behind in her wake, and even the geeks and freaks knew of her cleverness and cunning. The mystery around her disappearance had turned her into school legend, and now that she was back, the school was abuzz.

Lucas had fourth period chemistry, while Zay and Riley went to their art electives. As they stepped out of the history room, Riley clinging to Maya’s arm and chattering away, they paused at Riley’s locker, as they always did in between classes.

“This is still your locker?” Maya asked, laughing a bit as they stopped outside of the history room. “Right next to The Hole and everything.”

“It didn’t feel right to move it,” Riley shrugged sheepishly. The unspoken ‘ _after you left_ ’ hung in the air for a second before Riley moved on hurriedly. “Plus, it’s right next to my dad’s room, which is handy. Which one did you get?”

“Uh...the same one, too,” Maya laughed, the sound light and oddly airy. “It was open, and it’s what I was used to. And like you said, close to your dad’s classroom.”

The girls laughed, Riley putting her history book away and holding her hand out for Maya’s. Not receiving it, Riley turned to find Maya across the hall, stowing the book in her own locker. Lucas watched an odd expression flit across his ex-girlfriend’s face as Maya turned back around.

“You alright, Honey?” Maya asked, seemingly noticing the expression as well. Riley laughed nervously, waving her concern off. “What’s wrong, Riles?”

“No, nothing! It’s just weird; I always used to carry your books, and now that you’re back, I was ready to take them without a second thought,” Riley said, still laughing. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maya grinned, biting her lip. “I kind of had to learn how to look after myself in Italy, there was no Riley to pick up after me.”

It was the first time Maya had mentioned Italy, and Lucas still had trouble believing that she’d been all the way in the Mediterranean for the last two years. He flat out hadn’t believed Riley when she’d told him at the beginning of sophomore year. Maya being sick, or running away to Pennsylvania, he would’ve believed. But all the way to Italy? He hadn’t thought Shawn and Katy would’ve even _let_ her, but apparently, they’d approved her move.

“What about Zays?” Zay asked, nudging the blonde playfully. “Meet any Zays while you were soaking up those Italian rays?”

“Oh no honey, you’re one of a kind,” Maya teased nudging him back. “I did meet someone you would’ve either _loved_ or _hated_. You were the first person I thought of when I met him.”

 _Him_? Lucas wasn’t an idiot, he was aware that Maya had probably met _many_ guys on her travels. Objectively, she was gorgeous, and she had a radiant personality. Still, it made Lucas a little uncomfortable. Judging by the look Zay was giving him, he wasn’t doing a great job of hiding it.

“Ooh, Fabio?” Riley asked immediately. Maya nodded, grinning, and Riley let out a small squeal, clasping her hands together. Clearly, whoever this Fabio was, Riley and Maya had discussed him in great depth.

The bell rang, startling them all, and Lucas turned to head to physics, giving the group a short smile and leaving wordlessly. He could almost _feel_ he stare on his back as he left, probably wondering why he was so silent, why he had left so suddenly. Or maybe that was just that damn wishful thinking again. Maybe she didn’t care.

 

* * *

 

 

“So, Maya’s back,” his lab partner said as soon as he slid into his stool, beating the late bell by a second. He sighed at the brunette who eyed him amusedly. “Yes?”

“ _Yes_ , Missy, Maya is back,” he humored her, shaking his head as he pulled out his lab book. “Any other obvious questions you need answered? What color the sky is maybe?”

“Sure,” Missy Bradford agreed, grinning predatorily. Lucas regretted giving her an opening immediately. “Are you gonna do it this time? Profess your love? Win the woman?”

“Missy,” Lucas sighed, rolling his eyes. He should’ve known exactly where she was heading with this.  Missy had been pushing for him to reach out to Maya since the day they found out she left. “No, I am not, because I’m _not_ in love with her.”

“So you say,” Missy shrugged, unconcerned. “But actions speak louder than words, buddy, and you should’ve _seen_ your face when she made her dramatic entrance.”

Lucas groaned and buried his head in his hands in an attempt to block the insistent brunette out. Her muffled chuckle reached his ears but otherwise, she took the hint and left him alone.

Her dramatic entrance. If Maya’s return had been _anything_ , dramatic would be the best way to describe it. Showing up three weeks into the school year, in the middle of class, after a two year absence? It was both so characteristically Maya Hart – and so _not_. And she carried herself with a confidence and air Lucas had never seen on her. And she wore it _beautifully_ , but she felt so foreign and unreachable; though maybe that was the stony silence between them. To be fair, she’d just _left_ without a word to him, after a summer of being inseparable. They’d been the only ones in town that summer, and they had spent the entire three month break with each other. If nothing else, Lucas thought they’d been solid again, he thought they were closer than they’d ever been. Until she just didn’t show up to the first day of sophomore year, and Riley had told them with guilty eyes that Maya had _left_. Without so much as a goodbye.

 

_“You ever regret moving?”_

_The question startled Lucas, who looked up from the guitar he’d been messing with. Maya was hanging upside down, off of her bed, her blonde waves skimming the floor as she met his eyes curiously. It was a lazy July day, the sweltering heat of the city battling the breeze that floated through Maya’s open window._

_“What, here? From Texas?” At Maya’s nod, Lucas pursed his lips. He’d thought about it for sure, but did he_ regret _moving? “No. I don’t think so. I mean, I love Texas, and my family there, but if I hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have gone to JQA, or met you. My life would be awfully boring without you.”_

_“And everyone else,” she tacked on, meeting his grin with a furrowed expression. He chuckled, shrugging._

_“Sure, Shortstack. And everyone else.” Lucas sighed lazily, tapping mindlessly on the guitar. “Why’d you ask? Gonna run away?”_

_“Not today,” she snorted, rolling up so she was sitting on her bed with her back to him. She stayed like that for a second, before taking a breath and turning around to face him with a smile firmly on her face. She raised an eyebrow and pulled her hair into a messy bun, the pieces she missed floating down to frame her face. “Wanna see if we can convince my mom to give us free ice cream from Topanga’s?”_

 

“Lucas. _Lucas_.” Missy shook him awake, and he blinked as the light overwhelmed his eyes. All around him, seniors were shuffling out of the room. He’d slept through class. “It’s lunchtime, dork. I’m gonna go.”

“Yeah, okay,” he groaned, sitting up and grabbing his bag. He followed her out, rolling his eyes as she blew him a kiss before walking away. No matter how much of a little shit she was, she was one of his only friends, besides Zay. He’d joined the Varsity football team in junior year, but he’d never bonded with the boys like all the teen movies promised he would, and Missy, crass and obnoxious as she could be, had taken him under her wing.

He made his way to the cafeteria slowly, mulling over the memory that was now looping through his brain. If he’d known what she was planning to do, he would’ve answered differently. Told her he missed Texas dearly, or that he never would leave New York. Pressed her about running away, and told her to _stay_. Except she hadn’t told him, hadn’t _trusted_ him enough to inform him that she was going to _leave_ the _country_. For two years, no less.

She’d never given him the opportunity to ask her to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yes, by the way, the title and chapter titles are italian. just a fun little tidbit :)
> 
> please please review and tell me what you think! kudos are a great way to show you're into this as well, and that's only one button :)


	3. tre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the thing about fire, is that sometimes it burns a little too hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright so, before we begin, a few notes: 
> 
> a) there is a character here that I can anticipate people getting worried about. Remember that this is a LUCAYA story. They are endgame, I promise. All other seeming romantic interests or problems are purely for plot purposes
> 
> b) we finally get to see Maya and Lucas talk to each other a little bit. It doesn't go great, I'll warn you now, but they'll work it out soon :)
> 
> c) thank you for all the support and encouragement! it really does help me get around to posting sooner. I do not allow bashing of any other ships or characters in my comments however. Please keep your comments polite, not just to me, but to other readers. 
> 
> that said; thank you!! i hope you enjoy this chapter - it got longer than I meant to let it.

“The prodigal artist returns!” Mr. J crowed as Maya walked into advanced art for fourth period. She did a little curtsey, the skirt of her dress fluttering as she dipped, and grinned. Looking around, she noticed the art class had gotten smaller in the years she was away. As freshmen, art had been _packed_ , full of aspiring artists of varying talents. Riley had been in art with her, during freshman year. Now, there were about seven students in advanced art, Maya included. Sarah was here, and Maya recognized one or two other faces from freshman year, but everyone else was unfamiliar. The easel closest to the windows was unoccupied, so Maya grabbed a smock and put her stuff there. Grabbing a set of acrylics and some paper, Maya perched on her stool and studied the sheet in front of her. She had plenty of feelings she wanted to express; she just wasn’t entirely sure how to do so.

“Is it true that you were sent to Italy for two years?” the boy at the easel next to Maya’s asked suddenly, putting his charcoal down as he leaned closer to her. Maya looked at him curiously, glad for the distraction.

“Uh, yeah,” Maya nodded, chancing a glance at Mr. Jackson to ensure that he wasn’t looking at them. He didn’t mind them talking as long as it didn’t distract from their work, but Maya was doing _no_ work. “Well, ‘sent’ isn’t exactly the right word. I joined a program in Italy.”

“For delinquents?” the boy asked, but his smile was teasing. He had a nice smile, both warm and mischievous. He had a dimple in his right cheek that was visible when he smiled like that.

“Nah, for artists,” Maya shook her head, but she was laughing. “Though, of course, it seems that most artists _are_ delinquents.”

“Fair enough,” the boy grinned. He stuck out a charcoal-dusted hand. “I’m Justin. Moved here in sophomore year – I’ve heard a lot about you, Maya.”

“That’s only a _little_ creepy,” Maya snorted, shaking his hand. He grinned back, and shrugged, his brown eyes warm and lively. _Interesting_.

 

* * *

 

 

“Peaches! How was art?” Riley was waiting when Maya walked out of art for lunch. Her paper had remained blank, and Maya thought about it a little guiltily, but made sure to smile.

“Fine! Felt good to get paints in my hands,” she lied. She wasn’t sure why she felt so hesitant about telling Riley about her creative block. “Ready for lunch?”

“Ye-eah,” Riley said slowly, looking away from Maya a little sheepishly. Maya looked at her best friend a little worriedly, and Riley sighed. “It’s just – well, things are a little different now.”

“What do you mean?” Maya asked easily. Lunch had been the easiest thing in the world during freshman year. She’d never had to experience the whole _looking for a spot in the lunchroom_ issue, thanks to her solid friend group. They’d found a spot on the Quad in the first week of high school, and stuck to it all year. It was a _great_ spot, on the grass under the trees for the hotter summer days, isolated but still a part of the school, and with a great view of the whole JQA Quad. Maya had some beautiful sketches done from that spot. Every day at lunch, their whole group would meet at the spot and hang out there until first bell. “What’s different?”

“Well, everyone kind of…left after you did,” Riley said unhappily, walking through the halls with Maya at her side. “Not actually, of course! But Farkle and Smackle started spending more and more time with the Science Bowl team, and Zay and Lucas had the Varsity players, or you know, literally any other group they wanted to hang out with. So slowly, everyone just stopped sitting together at lunch, and then eventually…”

“…everyone stopped hanging out at all,” Maya finished quietly. She’d sensed a little bit of tension in Matthews’s class – her friends weren’t sitting together, and Smackle had offered her a warm smile, but Farkle hadn’t greeted her at _all_ , and things with Zay were okay, but Lucas hadn’t said a word either. She’d known things would be different coming back, but she assumed it would just be stuff like inside jokes she wasn’t a part of, or activities she was left out of. She hadn’t _ever_ imagined the group would fall apart. “Honey, you never said anything.”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to bring that up over a Skype call,” Riley laughed, though there was a sad tinge to it. “What would I have said? ‘ _Hey Maya, I know you’re living your dream in Italy, but it turns out our friend group doesn’t work without you. But don’t worry about it, have fun!’_?”

“I did this?” Maya asked, turning to look at Riley with a worried expression. _Riley_ was supposed to be the glue. Maya was just her best friend. She loved her friends, but she’d never thought they depended on her to stay together. “Because I left, everyone fell apart?”

“Well, not _just_ ,” Riley assured her quickly. “I think the shock of not having you around all of the sudden was maybe the catalyst, but – it’s on _us_ , mostly. We stopped trying; it was like we didn’t matter to each other anymore. You were always the best at making sure everyone knew that we cared about each other. Between the stress of sophomore year, and the sudden change, it eventually just felt like we didn’t even _want_ to be friends anymore, so we drifted apart.”

“Who do you hang out with now?” Maya asked as they made their way to their old spot on the Quad. It was just as perfect as she remembered, but now it seemed haunted and sad. “If everyone else has other friends, who’re yours?”

“I usually sit with the cheerleaders,” Riley shrugged. “Or Marley. But they’re not really my _friends_ , not like the rest of them used to be. Usually, I’d just FaceTime you, or do homework during lunch.”

Now that Maya thought about it, she realized that most of the time she spent FaceTiming Riley had been during dinner time in Italy, which was around lunch time in New York. Maya had commented on it once or twice, but Riley had brushed it off. Now, Maya reached over and gave her friend a hug.

“I’m sorry, honey. I never realized,” Maya said sadly, shaking her head. As she laid there, her arms around the tall brunette, she realized there were two figures walking towards them. “Is that…?”

“Farkle and Smackle,” Riley said, in the same dumbstruck tone as Maya. “Holy cow Maya, you did it. First day back and you’re putting us back together!”

“Don’t get too excited Riles, I think they’re just coming by because they didn't say hi earlier,” Maya chuckled. As much as Riley had taught her to believe in hope, Maya still knew better than to hope too blindly. But still, she’d missed the two geniuses, and so as the duo got in earshot, Maya waved and grinned. “Hey, losers!”

“I heard there was an errant artist to be found over here,” Farkle teased with an easy smile, dropping onto the grass beside her and giving her a one armed hug. Smackle lowered herself onto the grass with a smidgen more grace, but her hug was just as heartfelt. “How was _Italia_ , _mi bella_?”

“ _Fantastico_ ,” Maya grinned, nudging Riley as Zay and Lucas approached. “Well look who finally decided to join us!”

“Found this one sulking inside,” Zay smirked, joining them on the grass with ease. Lucas sat a little more tensely. “Can we keep ‘im?”

“Only if he’s very good,” Maya snorted, winking at Zay. He blew her a kiss, and she pretended to catch it, snickering. Farkle and Riley watched them with growing amusement, but Lucas was staring at them with something else entirely. She _knew_ he was mad at her; two year silence etc, etc,. But he was contemplating them, no, _her_ , with a careful kind of scrutiny. He met Maya’s eyes, and a small blush spread across his cheeks at being caught.

“I missed this,” Farkle said suddenly, surprising everyone. They all turned to look at him, and he shrugged. “I know Smackle and I were the first ones to drift apart, but I did miss it. The Mathletes aren’t quite as fun as you guys.”

“And the Speech and Debate Team isn’t quite as kind,” Smackle added, reaching out and patting Maya’s leg briefly. For anyone else, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but from Smackle it spoke volumes.

“I missed all of you while I was gone,” Maya agreed warmly, bumping Smackle playfully. “I know I talked to most of you every week, but it wasn’t the same.”

Lucas made a noise between a scoff and a snort, and Zay elbowed him, grimacing apologetically. The lightness in the air was gone, and instead a sticky tension had started to spread amongst the group in the shade of their tree. Farkle was watching the group with an unreadable, analytical look on his face, and Riley looked upset at the sour turn. Smackle laid a comforting hand on Maya’s arm as she glared at Lucas’s downturned head. She met Zay’s eyes and he shook his head in both warning and apology, but Maya was jet-lagged and tired, and as much as she knew she was to blame, she was _angry_.

“Did you have something to say, _Lucas_?” she asked, tone biting. There was no room for nicknames when you were fighting. And despite the dead silence for the last two years, this was certainly a fight. “Or did you want to stick to stony silence and nothing but passive aggressive noises to make your point?”

On Maya’s right, Riley made a noise like she’d been wounded, and as much as it tugged at Maya’s heart, she was too livid to pay it heed at the moment. Across the circle, Farkle reached out and tapped Riley’s knee, giving her a soft look. The action startled Maya briefly, but she filed it away to examine later. Currently, she was on a rampage.

“Well _pardon me_ for not buying into this _bullshit_!” Lucas exploded suddenly, making some of the underclassmen nearby gape at their group. Zay winced, looking over at them, but Smackle was watching Lucas with what seemed like amusement. “Sure, we can sit here and pretend like we’re all _friends_ again, and like everything’s just _fine_ , but we all know the truth is, we all fell apart for a reason.”

  “Because Maya left,” Riley said urgently, voice small. She hurriedly latched onto the blonde’s hand, shaking her head. “ _Not_ to make you feel bad or anything, Peaches, just – we fell apart because Maya left and we didn’t know how to work without her. But she’s back now. So we’ll be fine, right?”

“Will we?” Lucas asked, less angry but still tense. “Yeah, maybe we fell apart because we ‘ _just didn’t work_ ’ after Maya left, but I don’t think so. I think we fell apart because Maya left and didn’t fucking _tell_ any of us.”

“That’s not fair,” Maya said heatedly, jumping to her feet to make her point. “That’s not _fucking_ fair. I had my reasons for not telling anyone, and besides, you don’t get to pin _your_ shitty communication skills on _me._ I’m not the one who let my friends drift away.”

“Communication skills?” Lucas repeated, also rising to his feet. Maya had forgotten just how tall he was, but even in her heels, he loomed above her. “I don’t see what my communication has to do with any of this. We drifted away because we were all hurt and betrayed that you left without a word.”

“You’d _think_ a common grievance like that would _bond_ people,” Maya raised an eyebrow. “What I heard was that you all just stopped _talking_ to each other. Just stopped trying. You always used to promise to protect our group, Lucas. What happened?”

His jaw clenched, but he said nothing, and Maya knew what that meant. Despite everything, despite the two year wall between them, despite whatever this fight was that they were having, Maya knew Lucas. And she knew that he had been pushed too far to be civil at this point. She was about to announce a ceasefire for the day when Farkle spoke up.

“She’s right, Lucas. It’s not her fault we fell apart.”

“Funny _you_ should say that Farkle,” Lucas grit out, fists clenched. “Because out of all of us, _you_ were the first to abandon our little group. Left us for the _geeks_. Because you were too good for us, right?”

With that, Lucas grabbed his bag and stalked away. Farkle looked shell-shocked, and he wasn’t the only one. No one had ever seen Lucas explode like that; his anger tended to be more physical when he lost it. Riley looked like she was about to cry, and Smackle’s amused smile had disappeared completely.

“He’s pent-up,” Zay said eventually, breaking the silence. “Not – that doesn’t excuse anything, but don’t take any of that personally, if you can help it.”

“It felt pretty personal, Zay,” Maya said quietly, and Zay blew out a breath, shaking his head.

“Yeah…I’m not saying he’s not feeling all of that,” Zay laughed without any real humor to it, running a hand through his hair exasperatedly. “But he didn’t mean to let it out, you know? He didn’t want to come over today because he was worried he’d lose control, so…that’s on me.”

With an ironic salute, Zay grabbed his back and followed Lucas’s retreating back at a safe distance. Farkle got up wordlessly and grabbed his own backpack, walking away in the opposite direction. Riley made another wounded noise and looked after him helplessly, the tears starting to roll down her face. Maya looked at her with a scrunched expression. When had _this_ happened?

“Go after him, Riles,” Maya urged after a second of Riley looking torn. When the brunette turned her tearful gaze on her best friend, Maya sat back down and planted a kiss on the crown of her forehead. “I’ll be fine, Honey. Farkle seems like he needs someone, though.”

Riley nodded, and grabbed her bag, tripping over her own feet as she rushed to get up. She followed Farkle hurriedly, and Maya turned to Smackle with a disbelieving laugh. She understood now why Smackle had been smiling earlier; the whole situation would’ve been funny if she hadn’t been directly involved. She’d spent her years as a kid ‘hating’ Lucas with a passion, and it had never gotten _this_  heated.

“ _Are_ we gonna be okay, Izzy?” Maya groaned, sprawling out on the grass so her head was on the brunette’s lap, after making sure she was okay with it. Izzy had become more comfortable with them, touch-wise, but Maya had been gone for two years, and as much as she’d talked to Isadora, she didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. But Izzy made no move to stop Maya, so Maya rested her head on the girl’s legs, pouting. In truth, Lucas’s words had hurt her, but at least _she’d_ deserved them, even if only a little bit. Farkle hadn’t done anything to provoke Lucas like that, not really. Plus, Maya was more used to harsh words than Farkle was. She’d be over it soon enough, but Farkle could hold onto the hurt from this for _weeks_.

“Why do you think that _I’d_ know the answer to that question?” Isadora asked, laughing slightly. “I’m just one of you guys, after all.”

“You know _everything_ ,” Maya argued, with the faith of a child who thought their parent knew the answer to any question in the _world_. “If there was anyone who knew how this would turn out, it’d be you. Or Farkle, but he’s too close to this problem, I think.”

“There’s no one yelling at me, so far,” Izzy agreed light-heartedly. Sobering slightly, she looked down at the blonde in her lap. “Honestly, I’d like to say yes. I hope we’ll all be friends again; I meant what I said about Speech and Debate. But in my opinion, it won’t really be possible until everyone is a little clearer on their feelings – and I’m not _just_ talking about whatever you and Lucas need to hash out.”

“You mean Riley and Farkle?” Maya hummed, turning her head to gaze in the direction her best friend had gone. “I saw that. What _is_ that?”

“A couple of stubborn idiots refusing to confront their own feelings in favor of making everyone _else_ deal with their feelings,” Smackle grouched, tone irritated, but fond. She and Farkle had ‘broken up’ at the end of freshman year, and Maya knew that Smackle had flourished more as an individual than as a pair. She and Farkle were still the best of friends and partners, she knew, but they were better as platonic science buddies than anything. “But it’s not just them either. _Everyone_ needs to clear the air.”

“You mean me. With everyone,” Maya clarified, mouth twisting.

“Well, not _just_ , but yes,” Smackle shrugged, but nodded. She was gazing at the Quad as she spoke, but her tone was gentle. “Why did you leave us without a goodbye, Maya?”

“I just thought it’d be easier,” Maya sighed. “I didn’t have to explain anything, and I wasn’t tempted to stay, and it was weak, but I was _in turmoil_ , and it felt easier.”

“You’re so _dramatic_ ,” Smackle smirked, and Maya frowned at the fact that that was the _third_ time she’d heard that today. “Why did you decide to go in the first place?”

“Well it was an incredible program, Iz,” Maya hedged, frowning. “And an incredible opportunity. I couldn’t just turn it down, it was a chance I was lucky to get.”

“Maybe so,” Izzy nodded slowly. “But there are incredible art programs here in New York as well; you know that as well as I do. In order for you to really choose to move away from your life here for _two years_ , there had to be something that really cemented your decision.”

“You’re too smart for your own good, you know that?” Maya grumbled, but she knew she needed to answer. Izzy was right; if she wanted life to go back to the way it was, she needed her friends to understand everything. “I just needed to get away, in a way, you know? After everything with Lucas and Josh and Riley, and after being told that I wasn’t myself, it felt like the universe was saying: “ _Here. Here’s an opportunity to figure out who you are without any outside influences”._ ”

“Did it work?”

“We’ll see,” Maya laughed, shrugging as the bell rang, signaling a need for them to go back to class. “I did need to find myself, but I don’t think I’m _done_ growing yet. I’m only 18, after all.”

As the two girls walked towards their classes, Maya couldn’t help but feel that talking to Izzy had lifted a giant weight off of her chest, so she squeezed the girl’s hand in gratitude before they separated for class. 

Now she just had to explain to the rest of her friends. Because by god, Maya was gonna bring her friends back together if it took all of senior year.

**Author's Note:**

> don't forget to leave kudos, and/or review, if you enjoyed!!


End file.
